Currently reading: UK Hydrogen infrastructure receives £23 million boost

The Government has pledged to invest the money in building more fuelling stations and encourage the take up of hydrogen-powered cars

The Government has created a new £23 million fund to accelerate the take-up of hydrogen vehicles by improving infrastructure.

The money from the fund will be used to create more fuel stations and other “high-tech infrastructure” projects, according to the Government. 

Hydrogen fuel providers, public organisations and businesses will be able to apply for investment this summer and are encouraged to partner with organisations that create hydrogen vehicles, like Toyota and Hyundai.

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A competition will be held for the proposals and the Government will provide match funding for successful bids.

The fund is part of the Government’s pledge to cut carbon emissions, improve air quality and deliver economic opportunities in the UK.

Currently, the alternatively fueled car market in the UK is growing at a very fast rate, but it still only represents a small 4.2% share of the overall new car market.

There are only two hydrogen-powered cars on sale in the UK: the Toyota Mirai and Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell. However, buyers are put off by high list prices and the fact that there are only 14 active hydrogen filling stations in the country.

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Transport minister John Hayes said: “We know the availability of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure can be a potential obstacle to the take-up of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles.

“That’s why we’re providing support to give interested parties the confidence to continue to invest in this new emerging technology to help us achieve our ambition for almost all new cars and vans to be zero emission by 2040.”

Read what it's like to live with the hydrogen-powered Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell

Paul van der Burgh, president and managing director of Toyota said: “We chose the UK as one of the first international markets for our Mirai hydrogen fuel cell car and are pleased that the Government is investing in this programme to encourage the further development of refuelling infrastructure and the wider uptake of fuel cell vehicles.”

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xxxx 21 March 2017

Crazy. Rather see it spend on a new Hospital ward

If Toyota and Hyundai don't want to cough up the money then why should the we invest in this pointless scheme. In fact the very reason Toyota don't want to waste anymore money on this hydrogen folly should be enough of clue not to go along with this waste of money.
As to "There are only two hydrogen-powered cars on sale in the UK: the Toyota Mirai and Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell." I don't either were on general sale and there were only 10 Toyota's to begin with. The EV has won the race game over!
Symanski 20 March 2017

Fossil fuels still used.

Industrial scale hydrogen harvesting (as it already exists, not created) uses fossil fuels. It's a fallacy that you're saving the planet by using hydrogen when they're still burning fuels to get you the hydrogen fuel!
PaulHa 20 March 2017

Hydrogen efficiency and CO2 emissions

Problem is hydrogen cars don’t actually produce less CO2 compared to an ICE car, and certainly a lot more than a battery electric. By the time you have used electricity to produce hydrogen (70% efficient) and then used a fuel cell to turn the hydrogen into electricity and then motive power (45% efficient), you have something which is only 32% efficient at converting primary energy into motive power– less than modern diesel and petrol cars. Compare this 32% with the 85% efficiency of a battery electric, and factor in the higher distribution costs of hydrogen and higher manufacturing costs and its difficult to understand the benefits of this investment? If hydrogen can be produced cheaply and efficiently then this might be a solution – but its not clear whether there is anything in the future which will solve this problem.

My problem is that its difficult to disentangle the motives behind hydrogen – is it being driven by oil companies who see its as a way of continuing their garage forecourt (petrol station) model of energy distribution for transport, or is it academic researchers drumming up research funds?